National / Crime & Legal Jan 7, 2020
The public safety commissions in six prefectures designated them Tuesday as “crime syndicates at war” in an effort to weaken them and stop their escalating battles.
National / Crime & Legal Dec 4, 2019
Leader of Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi splinter group arrested over August shooting amid feud in syndicate
A leader of a splinter group of Japan's largest crime syndicate was arrested Tuesday for allegedly shooting a member of the parent group amid a gang feud in Kobe in August, police said. Hiroji Nakata is suspected of shooting a 51-year-old man affiliated with the ...
National / Crime & Legal Nov 28, 2019
A senior member of the nation's largest organized crime syndicate was shot dead Wednesday in Hyogo Prefecture by a man armed with a submachine gun and a handgun amid a possible gang feud, police said. Keiichi Furukawa, 59, a high-ranking yakuza of the Yamaguchi-gumi group, ...
National / Crime & Legal Aug 22, 2019
Man linked to Yamaguchi-gumi shot in Kobe in apparent yakuza feud
A man affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest crime syndicate, was shot Wednesday in Kobe, apparently in connection with a feud among factions of the group in the city and surrounding areas, police said. The man, believed to be around 50 years old, was seriously ...
National / Media | DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN Dec 2, 2017
Life as a gangster in Japan just isn't as fun as it used to be
by Jake Adelstein
A number of theories have been put forward on the reasons behind the 2015 split of the country's largest crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi. Some say the factions that left the organization and formed a group called the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi were egged on by the police, ...
National / Media | DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN Nov 4, 2017
Japan's crime syndicates are shooting themselves in the foot
by Jake Adelstein
Japan's organized crime syndicates appear to be embroiled in something of a power struggle. Yoshinori Oda, who heads a splinter group that left the Yamaguchi-gumi called the Ninkyo Yamaguchi-gumi, was attacked as he left his house in Kobe on Sept. 12. Oda's bodyguard, Yuhiro Kusumoto, ...
National / Media | DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN Sep 30, 2017
Gangsters prefer to do things by the book
by Jake Adelstein
Japan's gangsters esteem tradition and prefer to do things by the book. As a result, they appear to love manuals — they have manuals for committing certain crimes as well as guides on how to avoid punishment for carrying out those crimes. Lately, however, ...
National / Media | DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN Jul 1, 2017
Are crime syndicates in Japan sitting on a gold mine?
by Jake Adelstein
The Japanese underworld loves gold — it has been the analog bitcoin of crime syndicates in recent years. The origins of gold are difficult to trace, and the material is easy to convert into cash and store. Crime syndicates are increasingly smuggling it, stealing ...
National / Crime & Legal Jun 16, 2017
Kobe yakuza boss served fresh arrest warrant over gang scuffle in Kyoto
The head of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi gangster group was served a fresh arrest warrant Friday in connection with a scuffle at the office of a different yakuza group in Kyoto in January. Kunio Inoue, 68, heads the breakaway group of yakuza formed in 2015 by ...
National / Media | DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN May 6, 2017
Brazen heists suggest that crime syndicates may be back in business
by Jake Adelstein
Last month, three masked robbers grabbed a suitcase stuffed with cash from a businessman who had just withdrawn the money from a bank in Fukuoka. The businessman is believed to have been planning to use the ¥380 million ($3.5 million) to buy gold. In December, ...
National / Crime & Legal Mar 23, 2017
Fuji TV reporter who allegedly bought car for yakuza also suspected of lending money: police
A Fuji Television Network Inc. reporter who allegedly purchased a luxury car on behalf of a man connected to the underworld is also suspected of lending millions of yen to the mobster, police officials said. The 32-year-old male employee, who was relieved of his reporter's ...
National / Crime & Legal Feb 14, 2017
Police raided a public hospital in the city of Kyoto Tuesday in relation to the alleged helping of a senior member of a crime syndicate stay out of prison by the forging of a certificate of illness. A doctor at the Kyoto Prefectural University of ...